Unlike The Rest
by markaleen
Summary: Mindy, with big news, envisions a perfect evening with Mork and Mearth only to get home and remember her life is anything but usual... but that's not always a bad thing. One-shot.


**After years of good intentions, I finally completed a Mork & Mindy fic. This show is one of my absolute favorites and I so wish it had gotten more seasons. True, it became outrageous at times, but isn't that part of its charm? Anyhow, I always wished to see Mork and Mindy have a child in the 'traditional' sense, and I remember hearing that Garry Marshall intended it to happen in the show's 5th season. Of course, that season never got past magazine advertisements. I hope you enjoy!**

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A minute didn't go by without Mindy looking at the clock. Half an hour closer... an hour closer... forty-five minutes to go... Present distraction made work difficult. Cue cards were misspelled and out of order, countdowns were too fast or too slow… A part of her knew she should be mindful of her duties at the television station if she wished to keep her job, but the most of her decided to wait until tomorrow to care. Besides, if Mork's antics hadn't gotten her fired yet, she wasn't sure what would.

Quitting time came at last. She only hoped tonight was one of the nights Mearth cooperated with his bedtime. Tonight she needed Mork to herself. She closed her eyes and envisioned this evening's impending perfection as she zipped up her coat. Mork would surprise her with some strange Orkan/Earthling meal combination as he's done almost every night for the past three weeks. She'd humor him tonight. No matter how vile the concoction she would pretend to like it. As they ate their late supper she'd tell him about her day, feigning interest in the few events she paid any attention to. After, she'd ask how his and Mearth's days were. She'd listen happily to Mork's excitement over some outing and as he repeated Mearth's recap from school. Brief planning of tomorrow's schedule would take place before they cleaned up from dinner. After checking in on Mearth and kissing him goodnight, the rest of the night would be pure joy.

However, as most flawless imagined moments tend to go, Mindy arrived home to chaos rather than bliss.

Mearth had fallen ill with some bug going around his class. Of course, on Ork, this didn't mean the sniffles and a tummy ache. It meant a strange alien bug Mindy figured no one on Earth could fathom besides her. According to Mork, they had to wait until the bug left Mearth's body. And of course, it was not a pleasant process, much like the stomach flu mixed with chicken pox. By the time Mearth finally settled down and fell asleep, Mork wasn't far behind.

Mindy let out a sigh as she stood in front of the mirror while she brushed her hair. By now her earlier excitement had dissipated. Her mind was on Mearth. She hoped for the sake of the entire household he would sleep through the night.

"Cheer up, Mind," Mork said as he came up behind her. "Meath will be all better soon, you'll see."

She gave a slight smile. "I know he will."

"Then why do you look so down?"

"Oh, it's nothing. A long day at work, that's all."

"But when you called at lunch you sure didn't sound busy."

"I said it was long, not busy. I would have rather been home."

Mork followed as Mindy walked over to the bed. "Whoa there," he said, "if you thought Mearth was sick this evening I won't even tell you about this afternoon."

"Of course I wish I could have been here to help take care of him. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't wanna worry you," he said with guilt. "Every Orkan gets this bug at some point. He'll be kay-o in no time."

"And I appreciate that, honest, I do."

"You still haven't answered why you're upset."

She sighed again. "I don't know if I can explain it."

"You can try," he said with a nudge.

"Well, I guess the thing is... sometimes, days like today, I wish I didn't have to be at work. I feel like I'm missing out on so many parts of motherhood. I'm only here to send Mearth off to school, not when he comes home. I miss so many of the outings you two take. I'm around for the mundane tasks like clothes shopping. Whenever I take him anywhere he grumbles if I don't say where first off. Now I'm realizing I'm missing the down days, too. Even if I had been home today, I wouldn't have known what to do for him."

Taking Mindy's hand in his own, Mork asked, "Why didn't you ever say anything before?"

She shrugged. "I never fully realized it. Don't get me wrong, I do love my job."

"You worked so hard for it."

"I know I did. But lately, it feels like my priorities have changed. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing."

"Sure it's good, Mind. We would love to have you home."

"You know it's not that simple. The bills need to be paid."

"I can get my job back at the daycare!"

"That's not enough, I'm afraid. Besides, you have to be the one home for Mearth. Even if you were qualified for the highest paying position in the country I still wouldn't know that dos and don'ts of raising an Orkan."

"What are you saying?" he frowned. "You're wonderful with him. Absolutely wonderful."

"Only because you've helped me so much. I'm afraid I'd panic."

A grin now peeked through Mork's solemn expression.

"Why is that amusing?" Mindy questioned.

"It's not," he chuckled. "It's just kinda nice being able to help you for a change."

"What do you mean?"

"When I first got to Earth you taught me everything. Drink with my mouth, don't sit on my face, look before crossing the street, eggs on Earth don't fly... everything."

Mindy laughed as she covered her face with her hands. "Oh boy, don't remind me. I lived in constant fear someone was going to come along and lock you up. Or worse, that they'd discover you're an alien."

"Nearly did a few times."

"Thank goodness nothing came of any of it. I can't imagine my life without you. I couldn't then, either."

"You took great care of me."

"You took care of me as well. And still do."

Mork smiled his more serious smile. "I love you, Mindy."

"I love you, too, Mork."

Seeing as the conversation had taken a positive turn, Mindy's desire to tell Mork the morning's news returned. However, she still wasn't sure how to do so in the perfect way. And then it hit her: nothing about her and Mork's relationship was perfect. At least not in the human sense. Their honeymoon posed as an example. Even though Mindy was faced with strange creatures and even stranger reunions with Mork's Orkan pals along with the bizarre wedding night misunderstanding, she knew the trip was beyond any earthling could fathom. To be the only one on a planet of millions of people to take a trip to a planet in another galaxy was surreal. This alone made it perfect, not to mention finding a being who loves her more than she knew any man on earth would. So why was she reaching for a perfect normality? It simply wasn't possible for her family.

"There's another thing I want to tell you," she said.

"What is it?"

Reaching for his hand again, she then brought it to her stomach. "We're going to have a baby."

Mork's eyes grew wide in a sudden panic. "Shazbot, why didn't you say something sooner?!" In a second he was on his feet. "Maybe we still have some of Mearth's hatchling supplies around. This is so strange, Orkan's hardly ever have siblings. And for the egg to come from you... yowza!"

Early today this reaction would have spoiled the moment for her, but now, she laughed.

"Oh no, the mood swings. You could pop any minute!"

"Mork," she said as she continued to laugh, "you don't understand." She signaled for him to rejoin her side. When he did, she finished. "We're having a baby the old-fashioned way — I mean human."

Realization crossed his eyes. "You mean you have a little person inside you as we speak?"

Mindy grinned, "I do."

"But... but how? Orson said it wasn't possible."

"He also didn't see how it was possible we had Mearth."

At last a smile appeared on his face. "We're gonna have a little tiny baby? You and me?"

Happy tears filled Mindy's eyes. "We are."

Mork held on tight to her. "Oh Mindy, I know how much you want a little baby."

"I didn't think I was able after Mearth, and I made peace with it."

"I just have one question," Mork said as he pulled back to see her face. "If you're pregnant why can't we see the baby yet? You know, like when your old friend Sally's baby was inside her."

"Earth babies take months to grow, remember? I'm only about three months along so I'm not very big yet."

"This is amazing, Mindy." Mork's voice shook a bit, not helping Mindy's emotions at all.

"I know. I still can't believe it."

"Is this why you were wishing you could be home?"

"Yeah," she shrugged, "I suppose this could be part of it."

"How will you have a baby and work?"

"I'll be allowed maternity leave for a little while. After that, it'll be like it is now. There's no way I can cut down my hours."

"Me… with a tiny earthling?"

"Aw, Mork, you'll be a terrific father. We'll have a couple months together with the baby and you'll just fine. Besides, Dad and Grandma will be over to help all the time, I'm sure."

"Phew," he breathed. "But what about you? Will you be okay?"

With a deep breath, she nodded. "I will be. I believe things have a way of working out. Take the baby for example. No one thought we'd see the day. Now we've been blessed with two children. Albeit, Mearth may not look like one. But still, how lucky are we? Our family is without a doubt the most incredible and unlike any other."

"You're right, Mind… And I can't wait to see the little guy. We'll get everything ready. We'll get a crib and those little booties we could never find for Mearth. We'll get him toys and hats and all that stuff."

"Oh no, I just realized something... where will the baby sleep? He'll stay in here with us for a little while, of course, but after that, we won't have an extra room."

"He'll share with Mearth."

Mindy bit her lip. "Do you think that's a good idea? Mearth is a great deal bigger than the baby will be and not the most gentle."

"He'll be fine. You said it will be a few months before the baby is born. And look how well he takes care of the frogs he brings home."

"That's true... aside from the fact he sat on one of them a few weeks ago."

With an exaggerated scowl, Mork sat back a bit further. "Is that never mentioning it again?"

Again Mindy laughed, pulling Mork back to her side again by the collar of his nightshirt.

Kissing her forehead, he said, "It'll all be okay. I promise."

Mindy ran her thumb along his cheekbone. "I know it will be."


End file.
